


Forest Nightmare

by shmikoprincess



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Horror, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22059391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shmikoprincess/pseuds/shmikoprincess
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple educational outing, however the students of Hetalia High soon discover that there are things in their world more sinister than any of them could have ever imagined.
Relationships: America/England (Hetalia)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	1. Prologue: Cross the river

Arthur ran. Branches stabbed and scratched at his legs as he made his way through tall grass. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. His body ached, his lungs burned, his vision blurred by the falling rain, but he didn’t care. He needed to get to the other side. He needed to get away from the hotel, it was the only way.

_Cross the river. Get to safety._

The words echoed ceaselessly in his ears. Whispers in the wind that urged him on, guiding him through the tall grass.

_Cross the river. Get to safety._

His foot snagged on an exposed tree root sending him crashing to the ground. The taste of blood and mud mixed in Arthur’s mouth. A shrill shriek blared from close behind, a reminder of why he was running in the first place. _Shit._ He couldn’t stop now, not when he was so close. Arthur scrambled to get back up, but pain shot up his right leg. He panicked. He needed to get to the other side of the river, it was the only way he would be safe. _They_ would be safe.

He tried to get back up onto his feet, but it was too late, he was pushed back down by a heavy figure. A taloned foot pressed his head into the mud, claws digging into his flesh. Tears flowed freely down his face, whether from fear or pain Arthur didn’t know. He couldn’t turn his head, but from the corner of his eyes he could see it lick its lips, the movement revealing a row of blood-stained teeth from its previous victims. He shut his eyes and prayed for the nightmare to be over.

There was no question about it, he was next in line.


	2. The Announcement

2 weeks prior:

Arthur lay his head on the table praying the pounding in his head went away. He really wished his classmates would talk a little bit quieter. Their end of year trip was fast approaching, and the classroom was lively with chatter, none of them could wait to find out where they would be going. Arthur groaned and wished his headache would go away; he really didn’t want to fall ill before the trip.

“What are the odds, our trip is right around the corner and I get sick. Just my luck.” He sighed as he poked his pencil case gently, being careful not to tip it over the table.

The sound of his classmate’s voices blended into each other to become one indistinguishable lump of sound. If he closed his eyes and focused however, he was able to isolate and hear the individual conversations taking place around the room.

Alfred was the easiest to pick out amongst all the noise as he was, not surprisingly, the loudest. He was currently telling a funny story that took place a couple of years ago during one of his lavish birthday parties. Arthur didn’t have to look to know that he was talking to Kiku. Despite knowing each other for less than a year, they were surprisingly good friends.

Hearing a distinct French accented voice amongst the noise got his attention next. He lifted his head and glared at the source of the noise. Francis sat across the classroom talking animatedly with Gilbert, Ludwig and Feliciano. Francis caught him glaring and threw a wink and a kiss in his direction. Arthur flipped him off and Francis laughed before returning to his conversation.

It’s not that he disliked the French guy, he was one of his only childhood friends, it’s simply that he seemed to have an uncanny ability to grate on his nerves. As for the others in the group, he honestly didn’t talk to them that often, however, he did have an amicable relationship with them.

Propping his head on his hands, Arthur stared out the window. “Yo Artie!” His eye twitched. Unlike the certain American that was currently calling out to him that seemed to thrive off social interaction, he enjoyed spending time by himself every now and then.

"Do ya think you’ll be able to make it to my birthday party next Saturday?” Alfred asked.

The room went quiet and Arthur tensed. Everyone knew his answer, including Alfred, but that didn’t stop him from trying to persuade him every year to go.

The scars on his back and leg tingled with phantom pain. Keeping his eyes trained on a small red butterfly with white borders perched on the windowsill, he answered, “No.”

Before the other had an opportunity to reply, everyone was startled by Antonio and Lovino bursting through the classroom door. “A teacher’s coming” Antonio announced.

Everyone hurried back to their seats at the announcement. He didn’t miss the look of concern Francis gave him as he made his way back to his seat and Arthur rolled his eyes. He was one of the few, if not the only person in his class that knew why he kept refusing Alfred’s invitation. Even though part of him was grateful for his concern, an even bigger part of him just wanted to forget what had happened just like Alfred had and move on.

Arthur was grateful for their interruption; he really didn’t want to have another one of those conversations in the middle of school. In fact, if it were up to him, he wouldn’t be having it at all. _Ever_.

Not everyone had returned to their seats when the door swung open and in walked a wavy blond-haired man. He didn’t look much older than the students in the room. He looked to be in his mid-20s and if it weren’t for the stacks of papers he was holding and the name tag that displayed his name over his left chest pocket, one could easily mistake him for one of the students. _Matthew Williams,_ he had moved to their school at the start of the academic year and was currently covering for their Biology teacher who had gone on maternity leave. He was quiet, soft spoken and had very little presence in the classroom. Alfred once compared him to a ghost, there one second, gone the next. Arthur found that to be quite an accurate way of describing their teacher even if he did consider it to be a little bit mean.

“Good morning everyone, I have an important announcement to make today about your end of year trip.” He announced as he placed the stack of papers on the table and started going through them, his glasses hung low on his nose. “This year’s end of year trip will be taking place in a neighbouring forest not too far from here.” A hand shot up from the front of the classroom, “Yes, Gilbert?” Matthew asked.

“Why are we going to a forest? I mean, last year they went to the beach, so why are we going to a boring old forest?” Gilbert complained as he leaned back on his chair. His brother, Ludwig, looked scandalised at the question and gave him a not so gentle elbow to his leg. With an _oof_ Gilbert dropped back down and shrugged back in response wondering what he had done wrong to warrant such a reaction from his brother. Ludwig huffed and turned back to face the teacher.

Matthew took the scene in quietly and waited for the little, somewhat violent, interaction between the two brothers to be over before answering. “Well Gilbert, last year they focused on marine conservation, so they went to the beach. This year however, I’ve been told we’ll be focusing on the conservation of forests and the study of the local wildlife, so a trip to the forest it is. Besides, you’ll be surprised what you can find in a forest, they’re a lot more interesting than what you give them credit for.” He finished and waited to see if Gilbert had any other questions.

Seeing Gilbert satisfied with his answer he turned back to address the whole classroom. “As you all know, Mrs. Johnson is still on maternity leave, so I’ll be going with you. If you have any questions, don’t worry, letters will be handed out.” He turned his attention to the stack of paper he was going through earlier and grabbed a handful before turning to Ludwig, “Ludwig, hand those out please.” He passed Ludwig a stack of papers before continuing “The letters you’re about to get will contain all the information you need. Remember, we’ll be leaving in 3 days.” With that, he finished and left the room.

As soon as the door shut, the classroom erupted with noise, everyone had turned to their nearest neighbour and had begun talking about the trip.

Alfred passed him a copy of the letter with a massive grin on his face “Isn’t it great? We’re going to a forest!” Excitement radiated off him in waves. Arthur on the other hand couldn’t share the same level of excitement the other boy had as he read the letter he was being handed. He just really hoped he didn’t fall ill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I'm ashamed to say that I actually started this story 8 years ago however, due to life getting in the way it ended up getting dropped.
> 
> Not completing it has haunted me for years and I figured it was finally time I tackled this monster and actually finished it.   
> Due to this, I have made it my 2020 new year's resolution to finish this story. 
> 
> I am hoping to publish one chapter every two weeks and I hope you guys can be patient with me.


	3. Meeting

Arthur arrived at the designated pickup point that was by the school’s front gate. He looked around and saw that only Gilbert, Ludwig and Kiku had arrived. All three students were on their phones, presumably talking in their class group chat if the vibrating in his pocket was anything to go by.

He acknowledged the trio of teens with a small wave before he set down his bags beside him and leaned against a wall. Arthur cursed whoever had thought that setting off at 2:00am in the middle of autumn was a good idea. Taking out his phone, he began to read some of the texts.

**_[1:45] Antonio:_ **

**** _Anyone else feel dead inside or is that just me?_

**_[1:47] Frog:_ **

_My friend, we’re all dead inside. Anyone that says they’re not is lying_

**_[1:47] Gilbert:_ **

_Preach it louder for the people at the back._

_I’m so tired._

_We’ve been standing here for 15 minutes now. When r you lazy asses getting here?_

_Where’re you guys?_

_Oh, Arthur just got here._

**_[1:48] Alfred:_ **

_Lmao, squad XD_

_Oooh, who else is there already?_

_I’m almost there, like 5 minutes away?_

**_Frog is typing - o o o_ **

****

The sound of rolling suitcases and heated Italian dragged his attention away from his phone. Arthur looked up to find Lovino scolding his brother.

“ _Come è possibile che hai dimenticato il caricabatterie a casa Feli!?”_

_“Scusa Fratello…”_

He could only pick up bits and pieces of the conversation, but he had an idea what the argument was about, Feliciano had a reputation of always forgetting things and he had heard the word _caricabatterie_ enough times to know that Feliciano had probably forgotten his phone charger at home.

Arthur found the scene amusing and although he had an amicable relationship with the twins, he wouldn’t dare get caught by Lovino laughing at them unless he wanted to start a fight. Lovino was fiercely protective of his brother which is why he was always at odds with Feliciano’s boyfriend, Ludwig.

Tucking his face into his scarf to hide his smile, he returned to his phone and kept himself busy whilst the rest of his class arrived. Soon after, Francis and Antonio got there. True to their texts, they looked every bit dead as they claimed to feel. “ _Mon Dieu,_ only a psychopath would think of making us wake up so early.” Francis declared as he set his bags down.

“ _Bueno_ … at least we get to sleep in the bus…”

It didn’t take long for the group to fall into casual conversation. Arthur followed the conversation in silence. Looking around, he noticed that Alfred had yet to arrive. “Hey, does anyone know where Alfred is?”

Before anyone had time to give him an answer, two large hands covered his eyes. Startled at the sudden touch, Arthur jumped. “Well, speak of the devil, and he shall appear!” He heard Gilbert laugh. He took a few calming breaths before reaching up to grab the hands on his face. He tried to peel the other's fingers off to no avail, those hands were not moving.

He didn’t have to turn around to know _exactly_ who it was.

"Alfred, do you mind?”

"Nope!"

"Alfred, it’s _way_ too early to deal with you right now. Let go." He tried to remove the other’s hands again. Failing that, he let out a frustrated sigh and crossed his arms.

"Maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll consider it." He heard Alfred say.

Feeling his eye twitch in annoyance, he willed himself not to kill the other boy. "Oh, wonderful Alfred, supreme leader of the universe, would you be ever so kind as to _consider_ letting me see again?" he replied sarcastically.

“See, that wasn’t so hard now was it?” Alfred said as he removed his hands.

Arthur shot a glare over his shoulder, “Wipe that shit eating grin off your face before I make you.” He warned. Alfred raised his arms in peace and laughed. “So, when’s our bus getting here?” He asked.

“Dunno. We’ve been waiting here for about, what, 30 minutes now?” Gilbert answered, “I haven’t seen any signs of a coach or anything.” He shrugged. “Not even Matthew, so no idea.”

“I’ve been here the whole time.”

Everyone jumped, not expecting to have Matthew show up like that. “Our coach should be arriving any minute now.” He said. 

The sound of an engine pulling up got everyone’s attention. Their transport had just arrived, and Arthur’s stomach flipped. Everyone waited for their coach to finish parking up.

The entrance slid open and out came a middle-aged man who greeted them before helping the students store their bags in the baggage compartment.

“Okay everyone, hand over your bags to the driver and make sure you have everything you’ll need for the journey with you, eh.” Matthew announced.

Arthur watched his classmates as they passed their bags to their driver with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He wiped his clammy hands on his trousers and wrapped his arms tightly around himself. Just the mere sight of the vehicle made Arthur want to throw up, he dreaded the journey ahead. His body refused to move, he mentally berated himself. He thought he had gotten better. _Damn it._

“Are you okay?” Someone asked. Arthur snapped out of his mental struggle and turned around to face Francis. He really wanted to tell him to leave him alone, that he was fine. But he wasn’t, and to Francis, he was like an open book.

“I’m fine.” He lied. 

Francis rolled his eyes and offered Arthur some tablets, “Take them, they’ll help you sleep through the journey… at the very least, they’ll help you relax.” Arthur stared at the offering hand and its contents and hesitantly accepted them. Tucking them into his pocket, he nodded his head in a silent thank you and Francis huffed. “Don’t force yourself.”

Arthur was grateful towards Francis, but he hated that he even needed help in the first place. He watched as Francis boarded the coach and decided to take the pills then, it would take them a while to work so better now than later. Taking one, he put the remainder back in his pocket.

He passed his bag to the driver and got onboard. Looking around, he found an empty seat by a window near the middle and went to sit down. Putting his backpack by his feet, closed the curtain by his window, buckled his seatbelt and got as comfortable as he could.

“Can I sit next to you?”

Arthur looked up and saw Alfred. Arthur contemplated his options for a few seconds. He was tempted to say no, but seeing the other boy standing there with hesitation in his usually confident and cheerful eyes, he couldn’t help but say yes. “Yeah, sure go for it” He answered quietly.

Alfred breathed a sigh of relief and sat down. Both boys sat awkwardly next to each other, Arthur had no idea what to do, what was he even supposed to say? Fortunately for him, a high-pitched sound coming from the coach’s speaker system was the thing that saved the day.

Lifting himself slightly to see what was going on, Arthur saw Matthew standing in the middle of the corridor with a microphone in hand. "Listen up; we should arrive to our destination by around eight in the evening. Before any of you ask, I’m looking at you Gilbert, we will be making a rest stop somewhere along the way.”

As soon as he was finished with his announcement, the coach filled with gentle chatter, however the number of conversations slowly decreased as people let sleep take over. Soon, only a few remained awake.

It had been roughly an hour since he had taken the sleeping pills Francis had given him and Arthur was starting to feel their effects kick in. He was starting to find it difficult to keep his eyes open for more than a second. Getting comfortable against the window, he listened to his surroundings whilst he waited for his body to succumb to sleep. He could hear Alfred, who was speaking in a hushed tone to someone, but he didn’t care to listen to who he was talking to. He found Alfred’s voice soothing, it helped him relax.

He felt something warm and fuzzy being draped over him. It smelled familiar but he couldn’t place why it smelled so comforting. Feeling warm and comfortable, he leaned to his side landing on a firm but comfortable surface. Something at the back of his brain was telling him that there was something very important he should be remembering but he was too tired to care and with that, he was asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


End file.
